Opinion of Advocate General Lenz delivered on 28 September 1993

1 Original language: German.

2 OJ, English Special Edition 1968 (I), p. 26.

3 Council Directive of 21 December 1976 (OJ 1977 L 26. p. 20), as most recently amended by Council Directive 89/439/EEC of 26 June 1989 (OJ 1989 L 212, p. 106), which is the version applicable to the present proceedings.

4 Council Directive 84/378/EEC of 28 June 19S4 amending the annexes to Directive 77/93/EEC (OJ 1984 L 207, p. 1).

5 See the second recital in the preamble to Directive 84/378/EEC.

6 Annex IV, Part B(7a). to Directive 77/93/EEC.

7 Emphasis added.

8 With particular regard to the amendments to Article 11 resulting from Council Directive 88/572/EEC of 14 November 1988 (OJ 1988 L 313, p. 39) and from Council Directive 89/439/EEC of 26 June 1989, cited above.

9 Emphasis added.

10 Emphasis added.

11 Emphasis added.

12 Deleted by Article 1(4) of Directive 89/439/EEC. Member States were required under Article 2 to bring into force by 1 January 1990 the laws, regulations or administrative provisions necessary to comply with that directive. Article 11(1)(b) of Directive 77/93/EEC had previously read as follows: the plants, plant products or other objects are not introduced at one of the prescribed entry-points;.

13 Emphasis added.

14 Emphasis added.

15 The last two sentences were only added to the second sub-paragraph of Article 11(3) of Directive 77/93/EEC by Directive 88/572/EEC, Article 2 of which required Member States to bring into force the laws, regulations or administrative provisions necessary to comply with the directive by 1 January 19S9 at the latest.

16 See the wording used in the first part of Article 5(1).

17 The permissibility of systematic checks follows from the wording of the first subparagraph of Article 11(3): Member States may ... supplement the measures permitted under the second sentence of paragraph 1 by systematic official checks ....

18 To be transposed into national law by 1 January 1990.

19 Judgment in Case 124/81 Commission v United Kingdom [1983] ECR 203; judgment in Case C-235/91 Commission v Ireland [1992] ECR I-5917.

20 Judgment in Case 5/77 Tedeschi v Denkamt Commerciale [1977] ECR 1555; judgment in Case 148/78 Pubblico Ministero v Ratti [1979] ECR 1629; judgment in Case 251/78 Denkavit Futtermittel v Minister für Ernährung, Landwirtschaft und Forsten des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen [1979] ECR 3369; judgment in Case 190/87 Oberheisdirektor des Kreises Borken and Another v Handelsonderneming Moormann [1988] ECR 4689.